Stargate: Return of the Ancients, Season 1, Ep 5
by Aer-ki Jyr
Summary: Episode, "Homecoming"
1. Chapter 1

Stevenson lunged forward, staff extended from a single-handed grip, and whipped the long wooden pole around in an arc low to the ground, attempting to catch his opponent's legs and drop him into the dirt.

Bra'tac nimbly jumped over the swing, coming down with an overhead shot that caught Stevenson on the left shoulder. He dropped to a knee from the force of the blow, but before he could roll clear of Bra'tac's reach he got the blunt end of the Master's staff driven into the center of his chest, knocking him backward and pinning him to the ground.

"_You were not this easy to beat the last time we sparred_," Bra'tac admonished. "_Something troubles you, and you are distracted because of it_."

Stevenson blew out a frustrated breath. "_You've gotten faster since last time_."

"_True enough_," Bra'tac said, removing the end of the training staff from Stevenson's chest and extending his hand to help him up. Stevenson took it and the old man pulled him up from the ground with ease. "_But something clouds your mind, and as a result your reflexes are dulled_."

Stevenson considered stonewalling him, but quickly relented and chose to seek his counsel. "_I am having doubts as to whether I can accomplish my mission_."

Bra'tac's eyes were locked on Stevenson's and did not waver. "_What has transpired?_"

"_I found one of our sisters, preserved by the Nox_."

The former Jaffa's eyes widened with surprise. "_Alive, after all these years?_"

"_Yes. She was held in stasis, mere hours away from death, in the hopes that someday a cure would be found for the plague that wiped out our brethren_."

"_And she is still there?_" Bra'tac asked, believing his consternation was tied to her existence, yet his inability to save her.

"_No. With the help of the Nox and the Tok'ra, I was able to find a cure to the plague. We revived her, and I spent many hours talking to her as we fought to bring her back from the brink of death. When we had finally turned the tide and she was on the path back to health she was taken from me by the Shol'va that are our ascended brothers_."

"_Taken how?_" Bra'tac asked in dismay.

"_Ascended while I held her in my arms_."

"_She still lives then? Is that not something to be fortunate for? She has survived where many did not._"

Stevenson glared at Bra'tac, but his anger wasn't directed at him. "_They could have ascended her years ago. Instead, they left her there to rot until I saved her. They don't care what happens to her, they did it deliberately to spite me_."

Bra'tac considered that for a moment. "_How can you be sure of their intentions?_"

"_They didn't ascend her until I had succeeded in healing her. They had hours to do so after we brought her out of stasis. I don't think they would have cared if I'd failed and she'd died, they just wanted to make sure I didn't have access to her. When I succeeded and it was clear that she was going to live they ascended her to deny her to me_."

"_And now you are wondering whether or not they will interfere with your plans in the future?_"

"_They are the ones who created the repository of knowledge for this very purpose_," Stevenson complained. "_Why then would they deliberately work against me?_"

"_If my understanding is correct, a great deal of time has passed since the Alterrans first ascended to escape the plague. In my experience, I have come to see many people change over time, not all for the better_." Bra'tac placed his right hand on Stevenson's shoulder and stared him in the eye. "_I know very little of the ways of ascended beings. They are truly an enigma to me. But if they were once like us, then their actions can be anticipated. If they wanted you dead, you would be dead already. They have the power to kill any one of us, if my understanding is correct_."

Stevenson nodded in agreement, but said nothing.

"_Then their intention is something less than that of a true enemy. What their reasoning is, I cannot know, but what they have not done is as telling as what they have done. They did not stop you, they only took her from you. Now, what does this suggest?_"

Stevenson considered his question carefully. "_Her presence altered the balance somehow. If I have all the knowledge and abilities of the Alterra, then her presence would have been redundant, and added nothing. She must have been different somehow_."

Bra'tac nodded. "_They gave you the ability to transform others into Alterra, so it is not numbers they are concerned with. If it were they would have prevented my transformation. They have not done so, so we must assume that our sister was different somehow_."

Stevenson shook his head in bewilderment. "_I cannot see how_."

"_Perhaps she knew something_," Bra'tac offered. "_Something you were not supposed to know. Regardless, it seems they do not want to stop your actions_."

"_They did not stop me from talking to her_," Stevenson countered. "_We discussed many things_."

"_What was her name?_" Bra'tac asked.

"_Aeria_."

"_Did you discuss your mission with her?_"

"_She already knew of it_."

Bra'tac glanced down at the ground in thought. "_Could she have been a threat to them somehow?_"

"_Not that I know of. Why do you ask?_"

"_If they are no longer flesh and blood, and have gained considerable power and knowledge in the transformation…could they not also have gained a disadvantage? Perhaps they ascended her, made her one of them, so that she would not pose a threat_."

"_Why then, would they want my mission to continue?_"

"_If she was a threat to them, and you are not, then they may simply not care what you do_."

"_How then can I continue, not knowing when I will become a threat to them and when or if they will step in to either ascend me or stop me?_"

"_You cannot know. Nor can you assume that is their reasoning. I merely mention it as a possibility. The more options you consider, the more likely you will be to recognize the truth if you ever come across a clue to their true motives_."

"_So, in the mean time I do what? Continue with my mission or forestall it looking for answers that I may never find?_"

"_Ultimately_," Bra'tac answered with the benefit of experience, "_you will encounter things you cannot control. You must then decide not the outcome, but what path you will walk, however long or short it may be_."

Stevenson reached up and placed his hand on the elbow of Bra'tac's outstretched arm in a gesture of thanks. "_And what advice would you have when potentially facing an invincible opponent_."

"_If possible, find a means of defense. No one is invincible, despite appearances to the contrary. And if you find yourself inadequate to the task…seek out a more powerful ally_."

Stevenson's head came up suddenly, and Bra'tac sensed his emotions shift. "_What is it?_" he asked.

"_Something I had overlooked_," Stevenson answered cryptically.

"_Is it something you must attend to now?_"

"_No_," he answered, guessing at his meaning.

"_Then might I suggest we resume your training with a clear mind. Your strength and speed as assets over weaker opponents…they will not save you against an even match. Even I, with my incomplete transformation, have bettered you every time we have sparred. You must learn technique, you must learn skill, and you must learn what it is to be a warrior_."

"_And the only way to do that_," Stevenson answered for him, "_is with time and training. Lots and lots of training_."

Bra'tac smiled. "_Indeed, my friend. Let us continue_," he said, retrieving his weapon from the ground.

Stevenson extended a hand and his staff lept up from the ground into his grip. He quickly swung it up and around into a guard position and waited for Bra'tac to strike as he cleared his mind of all thoughts of the Ascended Empire and the Shol'va that were his ascended brothers and sisters.

* * *

"What do you mean, 'you don't feel right?'" Sheppard asked Teyla.

"Being a mother doesn't feel like I thought it would," she said in a loud whisper so that others in the commissary wouldn't hear. "I find myself putting the interests of my son over the lives of others that I could be saving from the Wraith."

"He's your kid," Sheppard emphasized, "he's gotta take priority."

"But to what point?" Teyla asked emphatically. "How many lives is a few hours with my son worth? That galaxy is still at the mercy of the Wraith, how do I justify abandoning it to spend time raising my son?"

Sheppard glanced around at the nearby tables then leaned in closer towards Teyla on the opposite side of their table. "Where is all this coming from? You've saved countless lives already. You don't owe anyone anything. Your son is going to need you by his side growing up. That's where your responsibility lies."

Teyla bit back a comment amidst a small tear fighting to form inside her left eye. "Many Athosians live sedentary lives. They are passive, rarely leaving the village or their family unit for more than a few days. I am friends with several of them, and they are good people who will fight to defend themselves and their fellow Athosians if they have to, but they are not capable of leaving their people, their village, and going off to help others. They have ties, bonds that keep them linked to their family and friends. Those bonds give them great strength and a commonality that has helped them survive beneath the constant threat of culling by the Wraith, but it has also created limitations. It forces them to live very contained, defined lives. That's not the person I am, John. And it's not the person I want to be, yet I seem to be becoming her none the less. I feel trapped…helpless. I know what I need to do, but I can't without abandoning my son, which is unacceptable."

"Whoa, hold on," Sheppard said, holding up his hand for her to stop, which she did, swiping away a few new tears at the same time. "What is it that you need to do but can't?"

"Fight the Wraith without reservation. Train day and night to strengthen myself and become as potent a weapon as possible to be used against them. I am a fighter, John. In the past we didn't stand a chance against the Wraith. Now things have changed. First when I met you, and now with the hope that Stevenson brings. I joined your team, knowing that I was serving my people best by fighting the Wraith to one day free the Athosians from the threat of culling once and for all. Many of my people disagreed with my actions, believing that I was betraying them, abandoning them. I had doubts myself, but my purpose was always clear."

"Now, I have a son to consider. And I hate myself for it. I'm compromising my integrity to meet his needs. I don't go on some missions because I don't have someone to look after him. So perhaps someone is fed upon by the Wraith that I could have saved, and I didn't because of something as unimportant as watching over a child. Torren would have lived if I had just left him alone in my room. Is his comfort really worth the life of another person?"

"Why are you thinking like this?" Sheppard pleaded with her. "This is nonsense."

"No it's not," Teyla countered. "It's true. And I'm stuck. I don't have a choice. I'm a mother and that's not something I can resign from. The part of me that won't abandon someone to their death at the hands of the Wraith is the same part that won't abandon my son. I have to choose between the two. I have to sacrifice someone, and that appalls me. I don't wish Torren ill, I love him deeply, but if I had to do it over again I would not choose to have a child."

Sheppard was left speechless, and reached out to take Teyla's hand sympathetically as he searched for the right words…any words to say. As it was, he was interrupted before he could say anything more.

"Teyla, are you alright?" Stevenson asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," she said, burying her emotion deep inside where none could see. Stevenson could sense her mood, though, with his telepathy. Out of respect for her he didn't press the issue. Instead he turned to Sheppard.

"Mission…you and you only," he said in his incomplete English.

Sheppard raised his eyebrows skeptically. "You're actually asking me to go on a mission?"

"Yes," Stevenson answered simply.

"Well, that's a first. I've had to beg and annoy twice as much as Rodney ever did to go on _any_ mission with you. What changed?"

"I need a pilot. You are best we have."

Sheppard smiled egotistically. "Well, I can't argue with that," he said, belatedly remembering Teyla. He glanced over at her apologetically.

"Go," she said evenly. "He rarely asks. Have fun," she said, forcing a smile.

Sheppard raised an eyebrow at her, but her expression didn't budge, so he shrugged and jumped out of his seat. "Where are we going?" he asked Stevenson eagerly.

"Avalon."

Sheppard paled. "You mean…Earth?"

Stevenson nodded. "Home."


	2. Chapter 2

The rings aboard the _Tria_ activated, and deposited both Stevenson and Sheppard in the aft section of the Lantean warship, which was currently sitting off Atlantis's number 3 pylon, suspended in mid air by over a hundred small lift beams eminating from Atlantis. It had been residing there for weeks, undergoing hyperdrive repairs and modifications. To date, the original hyperdrives had been restored to working order, but the more advanced Ancient designs had yet to be completed.

The slower hyperdrives were an annoyance to Stevenson, and yet another reminder of the Lanteans' shortsightedness. Fortunately for this mission, they wouldn't be too much of a burden.

When the pair got to the bridge Stevenson slid into the pilot's seat, to Sheppard's chagrin. "I thought I was the pilot on this mission?"

Stevenson pointed to the Captain's chair. "Later."

"Fine," Sheppard said, disappointed. He slipped into the thin command chair in the center of the bridge and toggled the built in communications controls. "_Tria_ to Atlantis. We're ready to embark. Are the shields set for us to pass through?"

"You're good to go, boss," Devonshire answered playfully from the control room. "Make sure and bring me back some Skittles."

"Skittles?" Sheppard asked, surprised. "You want me to bring you back candy?"

"And some Starbursts while you're at it," Devonshire added. "One pack each will do."

"Just one?"

"Sure. One is enough for Stevenson to scan 'em and upload their patterns into the synthesizer."

Sheppard's eyebrows rose as he considered that…and other possibilities. "Well, if we have time I'll try and stop by a 7-11 and hook you up…do you want regular or sour?"

The Tria's engines flared to life and Sheppard felt the minute vibration of the ship's landing struts leaving the deck.

"Regular," Devonshire said with disgust. "I can't stand the sour ones."

"Me neither," Sheppard said as they passed through the city's shield and into the frigid atmosphere. Once clear of the delicate city spires Stevenson kicked the engines into higher thrust and made for space. "Oh, and while we're gone keep an eye on Teyla for me, will ya?"

"Something I should know about?" Devonshire asked.

"Not really," Sheppard said casually. "She's just seemed a little down lately."

"Will do, Colonel. Have a nice trip."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. _Tria_ out."

Sheppard turned off the comm and looked toward Stevenson. "You can do that, right?"

* * *

Two hours later the Tria exited hyperspace in the void between star systems at a set of highly classified coordinates. There was nothing to be seen outside, save for the stars of the Pegasus galaxy, which shone brighter than normal with the lack of ambient light from nearby stars or planets.

Stevenson reached over to a side panel from the pilot's seat and touched a button above the blank, white surface. The panel retracted to reveal the dialing crystals of a DHD.

"Cool," Sheppard said, walking up to look over his shoulder. "Didn't realize these ships had those."

Stevenson quickly typed in an access code on a subpanel filled with Ancient numbers. When he entered the code with a final touch to a blue crystal, the DHD lit up…as did the giant stargate outside the ship.

"Whoa," Sheppard said as nine blue chevrons appeared outside the forward viewport. "Where did that come from?"

"Hidden," Stevenson explained.

"You mean cloaked?" Sheppard asked.

Stevenson shook his head 'no.' "Camouf…camoufl…"

"Camouflaged," Sheppard finished for him.

He nodded, visibly frustrated with his continuing linguistic difficulties.

Sheppard did a double take out the viewport and frowned. "By the way, if we're in the middle of nowhere…what's powering the supergate?"

"Potentia," he said offhand as he uploaded a temporary purple gate frequency program and dialed an address.

"Potentia?...Oh, right. ZPMs," Sheppard remembered. He still hadn't assimilated some of the Ancient terms Stevenson kept using as if they were common knowledge. "How many? Atlantis had three…"

"Tw.." Stevenson started to say, but was unable. Instead he raised two fingers, then six.

"Twenty six?!" Sheppard exclaimed.

"Needs a lot of power," Stevenson said as he finished the nine symbol address and began entering the gate jump access code in response to the flashing symbols on the DHD. Outside the supergate, each chevron had glowed brighter with their individual activation. Now, with the completion of the jump code, their brilliance was surpassed by the ambient light created as the event horizon snapped into place directly in front of them.

"Why doesn't the kawoosh happen for you?"

"Not needed," Stevenson said as he aligned the _Tria_ with the open wormhole.

"What's it for then?" Sheppard asked.

"Make sure no obstruction," Stevenson said as the _Tria_ settled into final position. "None here to clear out."

"Why stop it?" Sheppard asked. "Does that save power?"

"Not cool," Stevenson explained, smiling, as he thrusted the _Tria_ forward.

"Oh, so all us simpletons have to go the redneck way while you Ancients get to travel in style."

"Yep," he said, free of any distortion.

Sheppard laughed. "Whether redneck or in style, either way, this is still cool," he said as the _Tria_ approached the event horizon. "We are going to fit, right?"

Stevenson nodded. "Barely."

The ship, properly aligned, slid through the breadth of the gate, narrowing passing through laterally along the aft section, but fitting through with room to spare in all other dimensions.

A moment later they emerged through a purple supergate of similar, yet slightly different design.

"Back home in the Milky Way in two seconds flat," Sheppard commented. "Not bad."

"Avalona," Stevenson corrected him. "Nine hours to home."

"Nine?" Sheppard asked, scoffing. "The _Daedalus_ is faster than that."

"I know," Stevenson said, cringing. He really disliked the Lanteans' incompetance.

* * *

The _Tria_ emerged from hyperspace outside of Sedna's orbit…far enough away from Earth that their entry wouldn't be noticed. After a quick look at the proximity sensors, Stevenson abdicated the pilot's chair and motioned for Sheppard to sit down.

"Now you want me to fly?" he asked, taking the seat. Stevenson pointed to a specific button on the console.

"Cloak, now," he said.

Sheppard glanced at him, then the button. "I didn't think Ancient warships had cloaks," he said, tapping the button. "Though I suppose you can change anything with a shield into a cloak?"

"With right modification, yes," Stevenson confirmed. "Set course for Avalon."

"Right…" Sheppard said, looking over the controls. He tried the navigation system first and, with a little difficulty, pulled up a sensor log of the star system and isolated Earth. After that it was pretty much point and click and the _Tria_ was on its way.

A little over an hour later the _Tria_ quietly made Earth orbit, right under the nose of the _Pheonix_ and the Ancient outpost in Antarctica which, if properly used, could have detected their approach in hyperspace. Given the fact that the _Pheonix_ hadn't moved from orbit and that the outpost was still powered down, it seemed that their approach to Earth had not been detected, and now that they were under cloak, there was no way for the Humans to track them.

Stevenson walked over to a side station and did something with the ship's sensors. After a few moments he seemed satisfied and left the workstation, motioning for Sheppard to follow. Not a word was said until they were back in the ring room.

"Stay with the ship," Stevenson ordered. "Move if needed. Do not lower cloak."

"Where are you going?" Sheppard asked. "Are you boarding the _Pheonix_?"

Stevenson shook his head 'no.' "They can board the _Tria_ if you do not lock out rings. I will send code when ready to come back. It will unlock." Stevenson said, hefting his wrist-mounted comm device for emphasis.

"How do I lock out the rings?"

"Bridge or here," he said, pointing to two buttons on the ring control pad. "Same time."

"Can I do it from the control chair?" Sheppard asked.

Stevenson thought for a moment. "Yes."

"You still haven't told me where you're going," Sheppard reminded him.

"Nope," he said, activating the rings around him via his comm device.

"Bus driver," Sheppard said, punching the wall. "I should have known he wouldn't let me in on the good stuff. I can't even get candy," he said as a thought came to him.

"No, that won't work. I'll never be able to find the ship again if I take the puddle jumper down. Looks like I'm stuck here until he gets back. I wonder if the ship's computer has Solitaire…or something like it."

* * *

The seldom used rings emerged in perfect sequence and deposited Stevenson in a flash of light between them. The site to site transportation devices retracted into their hidden niches, leaving him standing alone in the caverns beneath Glastonbury.

It was quiet and dark. Nothing moved. The Humans had long since exhausted their interest in the site after removing the treasure and artifacts that SG-1 had discovered. Their decision not to make use of the secure location smacked of arrogance. It was the one place on Avalona that was invisible to sensors, and provided the perfect location for a doomsday backup facility, or at the very least an offshoot of the SGC.

But the Humans hadn't possessed the forethought to recognize the value of the location…and instead had left it bare and unattended.

Stevenson looked around from his position within the ring platform. Small amounts of light were trickling in from somewhere, probably powered by the same device that allowed the rings to function. After all, it wouldn't do to have guests arriving in total darkness.

After finding nothing of immediate interest or danger, Stevenson started to walk about, with the sword in the stone being the first item to catch his eye. According to the mission files that he'd read, it was a holographic device designed to test the mettle of the user in order to open up the treasure house that Merlin had left behind.

He found it a little odd that the sword remained now that its purpose had been served. It was holographic, after all, and could easily be turned off. But for some reason Merlin hadn't programmed it that way, which furthered his hopes that something else of value might be within the Lantean's former lair.

Stevenson stared at the sword for a moment, then moved on. He searched every nook and cranny of the caverns, which were far larger than the mission report had indicated. He found two locations which he thought might contain hidden chambers…but if they did they were well secured and he could find no way to access them.

After six hours of searching Stevenson returned to the main chamber and sat down next to the sword. He cradled his head in his hands and thought hard.


	3. Chapter 3

Stevenson ringed back aboard the _Tria_ frustrated, but none the less determined. There was something down there…or had been there, and he was intent on finding it.

"Where the hell have you been?" Sheppard demanded, running into the ring room.

"England," Stevenson answered as he began to pace back and forth across the room, his hands locked behind his back.

"England?" Sheppard asked. "Where in the world did you find a set of rings in England? And what the hell were you doing down there in the first place?"

"Merlin," he answered simply.

"Merlin? You mean you went to Glastonbury? Merlin's secret lair under Glastonbury? What for?"

"What did they find there?" Stevenson asked Sheppard as he continued to pace.

"The Ori," Sheppard answered, wondering where he was going with this.

"How?"

Sheppard frowned. "Some old book and the intergalactic communications device. Daniel Jackson and some chick supposedly traveled to the Ori galaxy, got into a heap of trouble, and revealed our existence to the Ori. Then they sent their followers here to convert or kill us. Kind of nice being in Pegasus while all that went down, by the way."

"Why did Merlin have it?" Stevenson asked.

"Have what?" Sheppard asked, his frown deepening.

"The Mentis Transitia," he said, glanced at Sheppard's blank look, then translated with the few words available to him. "Galaxy phone."

Sheppard snickered at his choice of words, then his expression dropped all levity. "Good question…actually, that's a damn good question."

"I found nothing in the cave," Stevenson said as Sheppard continued to think.

"Who would Merlin have been talking to? It'd have to be someone in the Ori galaxy, but that doesn't make any sense."

"No," Stevenson said quickly. "The Mentis Transitia finds any other you want, but finds near…est on own."

"Wait a minute," Sheppard said, holding up his hand. "You're saying that he was talking to someone farther away than the Ori galaxy?"

Stevenson nodded. "So it would seem. Why else have a Mentis Transitia?"

"Yeah, I see your point. Who do you think he was talking to?"

Stevenson shrugged.

Sheppard's eyebrows came up. "You don't have any idea?"

Stevenson shook his head 'no.'

Sheppard considered that. "Well, what's your next move?"

Stevenson stopped pacing as a thought came to him. He turned to look at Sheppard for the first time. "O'Neill."

* * *

Jack was standing on the back lawn of his suburban Washington D.C. home over a smoking grill and a pair of plump Ball Parks. He pulled one off the rack and slid it into a bun, then heaped a load of condiments on top before squeezing it all together and aiming it for his mouth.

"Nice dog," a voice said from behind him, nearly making him miss.

"I know that voice," O'Neill said, slowly turning around to see Sheppard standing behind him. "Strange you being here and all. Don't suppose you parked the city in orbit, or I'd have had a phone call by now."

"No, we found an alternate means of transportation," Sheppard said, eyeing the other hot dog. "You really going to eat both?"

"It was a plan," O'Neill admitted. "Who's we?"

"Stevenson," Sheppard told him.

"Of course," O'Neill said sarcastically. "The two black sheep coming back home together. How is the old boy doing, by the way?"

"Still breathing, if that's what you're asking," Sheppard said, remembering that O'Neill had had a similar encounter with an Ancient Repository. "Right now he's playing tag with the _Phoenix_. Something about making a copy of the Asgard tech."

"Is he now?" O'Neill asked, taking it all in stride. "And you're gracing my home with your presence because…?"

"We need to know what else you found under Glastonbury," Sheppard said evenly, then added. "Please."

"Merlin's stuff?" O'Neill asked. "What do you want that for? You've got your own Ancient and the city of Atlantis to boot."

"Yeah, well, we were kind of interested in who Merlin might have been talking to," Sheppard admitted, then added, "and we think there might be a secret chamber."

"Ah, a secret chamber," O'Neill emphasized. "Seems like there's always one of those popping up. By the way, where are you parked? Was that you that snapped off that branch about ten minutes ago?"

"Yeah, sorry about that," Sheppard said apologetically. "The puddle jumper was a tight fit between the houses."

"Why didn't you just land in the driveway?" O'Neill asked.

"Someone might pull in," Sheppard said innocently.

"True, true," O'Neill admitted. "About Merlin's stuff…I haven't a clue. Everything Ancienty went to the SGC and the gold went to the Brits. Aside from the intergalactic communications device and the out of phase thing I don't really know what we found. You'd have to ask Daniel."

"Right," Sheppard said slowly. "I don't suppose you know where he's at. It took us quite a long time to track you down."

"Why?" O'Neill asked. "I'm in the phone book."

"No, you're not," Sheppard corrected. "Your number's unlisted."

O'Neill's cell phone rang from his belt holster.

"If it was, would I keep getting interrupted at home?" he said, completely ignoring the fact that they were talking about his home phone. He listened for about 20 seconds before answering. "Understood. Keep me in the loop," he said, snapping his phone closed. "Apparently the _Phoenix_ has an unwelcome guest onboard."

"Damn it," Sheppard said under his breath. "I thought he was going to scan it from the ship."

"With the cloak up?" O'Neill offered. "I assume your ship is cloaked or I'd have had a very different phone call."

"So what, he decides to board the ship instead?" Sheppard said, perturbed. "Have they caught him?"

"No, seems they don't know what's going on. The rings activated by themselves, then the ship's computer showed an unauthorized access. They put two and two together and figured that someone had come aboard that wasn't supposed to be there."

"Great, now how am I supposed to get back onboard if he isn't there?" Sheppard complained.

"Get back onboard what?" O'Neill asked, curious.

Sheppard's voice caught in his throat. He thought twice about it and decided it would be stupid not to trust O'Neill when they were asking him to trust them. "We salvaged the _Tria_."

"Good for you," he said cheerfully. "Wish we'd thought of that. Probably would have been cheaper than building a new 304. Actually, I'm surprised the I.O.A. bean counters hadn't floated that idea."

"Yeah, well, when you have a flying city to ferry it back it makes things a bit easier to retrieve."

O'Neill raised an eyebrow. "You took the whole city out to bring the ship back?"

"Well…it's not like it's that far out of the way with three zpms," Sheppard explained. "Besides, the city had already left the ground to kill the hive ship."

"Hive ship? What have you two been up to latel?"

"Quite a bit," Sheppard said, blowing out a knowing breath. "Our resident Ancient keeps us quite busy."

"Really. Anything going on that I should know about?"

"Killing more Wraith, saving more lives, situation normal, just without all the annoying paperwork," Sheppard said deadpan.

"Ah, wouldn't that be nice. No paperwork," O'Neill said, thinking about it. "Actually, I no longer have any idea what that would be like. It seems I've been assimilated into a bureaucrat, and I never even saw it coming. No, that's not true. I did see it coming, in little bits and pieces. I'm just so bad at math I didn't realize what it would all add up to. If I don't find some way to save myself soon, I may need to escape to Atlantis myself."

"You're always welcome, General," Sheppard said with sincerity. "But since Ancient Boy has already blown our cover and we're on a bit of a time table, if you could tell us…"

"Daniel's still at the SGC as far as I know," O'Neill said, anticipating his question. "Hold on a minute. I've got an idea," O'Neill said, pulling out his phone. He hit the number 2 speed dial and waited for it to connect. "This is General O'Neill. I need to talk to Dr. Daniel Jackson, if he's available. Yes, I'll hold."

"Ten bucks says he isn't there," Sheppard said into the silence.

O'Neill pointed to him. "You're on." He waited for another minute before getting a response. "Uh, huh. No, don't have him call me back. I'll get with him later. No, no message. Thank you." He glanced up apologetically at Sheppard. "He's currently off world," O'Neill said as he dug out his wallet. "How'd you know?"

"It's just been one of those missions where you can't seem to find any luck at all," he said, taking the ten dollar bill from Jack.

"I remember those. Daniel should be back within the next 10 hours or so. I'd offer to put you up until then, but you are a renegade after all."

"I understand, sir. Not a problem. I have to run to the nearest convenience store anyway," he said, hefting the ten as he turned to leave.

"Sheppard," O'Neill called him back regretfully. "You should probably know, there's a task force in the Pegasus galaxy hunting for you…and Stevenson…and Atlantis. Carter's in command."

Sheppard nodded his understanding. "Thank you, sir. We appreciate the heads up."

"Go easy on them," O'Neill insisted.

Sheppard smiled and nodded. "Will do," he said, then disappeared around the side of Jack's house.

A minute or so later O'Neill heard another crack and a second tree branch fell to the ground. He turned to face the fallen limb. "Doh."


	4. Chapter 4

When Sheppard made it back into orbit he activated his wrist bound communicator. "Stevenson, where are you? I'm ready to come back aboard."

"Standby," was the only reply he received.

"Tell me you're not on the _Phoenix_," he pleaded.

The comm was silent.

"O'Neill got a call while I was talking to him," Sheppard explained. "He said they suspected an intruder on board the Phoenix. I'm assuming that's you."

Still silence.

"Come on, already. I need to dock with the ship."

In the distance Sheppard saw the tiny spec that was the Phoenix highlighted by a short, straight, white line terminating into nothingness. A long moment later the glowing line was gone.

"Oh, like that didn't give your position away," Sheppard growled over the comlink as he hurried his cloaked puddle jumper toward the pair of ships. Halfway there a computer generated silhouette of the _Tria_ popped up on his screen. It was moving away from the _Phoenix_ to reset its anonymous position after the ring beam had revealed its whereabouts.

"Open the bay," Sheppard told him grumpily, "I'm coming in."

* * *

"Are you nuts?" Sheppard yelled at Stevenson five minutes later in the _Tria_'s small landing bay. "Now they know we're here."

"And now I have Asgard Beams," he countered, holding up a data crystal for emphasis. "What did O'Neill tell you?"

"Not much," Sheppard said, still frustrated. "Shouldn't one of us be on the bridge playing keep away with the _Phoenix_?"

Stevenson stepped aside and waved Sheppard toward the bridge.

He hurriedly brushed past the Ancient. "With the way you fly I'm surprised we haven't hit the moon yet."

Stevenson followed him. "O'Neill," he repeated.

"He doesn't know what else was found in Glastonbury," Sheppard told him as he hurried back to _his_ pilot's chair. "He thought Daniel would know, but he's off world and not due back for another ten hours."

"I'll find him when he gets back," Stevenson said as they walked onto the bridge. "There are some things I need to get from the SGC anyway."

"You're going to break into the SGC?" Sheppard asked as he slid into the pilot's chair and deactivated the autopilot program that Stevenson had running to evade the _Phoenix_ as it ran through a gridded search pattern, scanning for any trace of the cloaked ship.

Stevenson didn't say anything. Instead he just reached to the ornamental gauntlet on his right forearm and touched a small crystal, disappearing beneath a personal cloaking field. He reappeared a moment later with a patronizing look on his face.

"That doesn't get you inside," Sheppard reminded him. "Oh yeah, by the way. O'Neill mentioned a little task force they've sent after us in Pegasus…led by Colonel Carter."

"Really?" Stevenson asked.

"Uh huh. O'Neill asked that we go easy on them when we finally meet up."

"How many vessels?"

"He didn't say, but I'm assuming at least two. One ship doesn't make for much of a task force."

"_Odyssey_, hopefully," Stevenson said, heading for the door. "Park us somewhere safe and sit still."

"You're going to break in now?" Sheppard asked.

"I need to be there when Daniel returns."

"What was that about _Odyssey_?"

"I need a copy of Asgard data core."

"Why?" Sheppard asked. "I thought Ancient tech was better."

"Most is. I want to see what they right behind."

Sheppard frowned. "_Left_ behind."

"What did I say?" Stevenson asked.

"Right behind," Sheppard repeated.

Stevenson thunked himself on the side of the head theatrically as if he were realigning something then left the bridge and headed back to the bay for the puddle jumper.

* * *

When SG-1 returned from their off world mission, Mitchell, Vala, Jennifer, and Daniel split up to spend their off hours as they individually chose. Teal'c had once again left the stargate program and returned to the new Jaffa nation once the recently returned Colonel Carter had been permanently reassigned to 304 command duty. Colonel Mitchell had replaced the pair with the one person in the SGC rumored to be as smart as Carter…the young Captain Hailey, whom Carter had infamously crossed paths with when she had been on the brink of being kicked out of the Air Force.

The four had meshed well enough, though there had, and never would be, any real replacement for Carter and Teal'c. Daniel had been rumored to have considered leaving as well, but with Atlantis now out of Earth's hands, he didn't really have another assignment befitting him, so he had chosen to stay with SG-1 without too much arm twisting from Colonel Mitchell.

When Daniel returned to his on base quarters he found a note lying on his desk, written in Ancient.

_Did you ever wonder where the Mentis Transitia came from?_

Daniel looked at the note twice, wondering who would have had the linguistic skill to write it…and what a Mentis Transitia was. He glanced back at the door just in time to see it slide shut, latch, and lock on its own accord.

"Okay…I'm assuming I'm not alone here," he said cautiously.

Beside the door, but out of view of the narrow window contained within it, Stevenson appeared with a finger over his lips. "Shhhh," he said quietly.

"Hell-lo," Daniel said in muted surprise.

"We need to talk," Stevenson said quickly.

"Oh, hey, you speak English now. How did that happen?"

"Still learning," Stevenson admitted. "Did you ever think about it?"

"To answer that I'd have to know what a Mentis Transitia was?" Daniel said apologetically.

"It, ah, _it's the long range, intergalactic communications device that you found in Merlin's cave and used to make contact with the Ori_," Stevenson finished in his more fluent Ancient.

"Oh, that, I guess it makes sense that you'd know the original name," Daniel answered offhand. "I'd always assumed it was something the Alterrans had brought with them from the Ori galaxy."

Stevenson tilted his head in disgust and gave Daniel a none too happy eyebrow. "Merlin was Lantean," he reminded him.

"Yeah, he was," Daniel said, not seeing where he was going with this.

"Why would a Lantean have a device brought here by the Alterra millions of years before he was born?"

Daniel nodded his head slowly in thought. "That…is a good question. I guess when it mentally took Vala and me to the Ori galaxy, I assumed that was its original purpose. I suppose it wouldn't make much sense for Merlin to hang onto a device that could give away our location to the Ori, which he must have known weren't aware of our existence from his time as an ascended being. But then again, when he left the book detailing Alterran history one could assume that the…Mentis Transitia…was meant as a way for us to discover the truth about the threat of the Ori."

"I suppose there is a bit of a contradiction there," Daniel admitted. "Did you come all the way back here to ask me about that?"

"The Mentis Transitia did not connect you to the Ori because that was its purpose. It connected you to the closest device because you didn't select a specific location."

"Wh, wh, how were we supposed to do that. I didn't see any buttons or displays," Daniel asked.

"_Mentally_."

Daniel sighed. "Of course." He glanced down at the floor as the significance of what Stevenson just said hit him. "If Merlin was actually using the device, who was he talking to, and how far away where they…and why didn't he put some safeguard in place so some simpletons like us couldn't accidentally reveal ourselves to the Ori?"

"_I doubt he ever considered the possibility of another such device existing in the Ori galaxy. We destroyed everything we left behind, and purposely traveled far enough away so that we would never have to deal with the Ori again_."

"That's right…you would know, wouldn't you? Then if he didn't intend for us to use the Mentis Transitia to discover the existence of the Ori, then why was it left for us to find?"

"_Why did Merlin build one in the first place?_" Stevenson added.

"Why would he necessarily have to build one?" Daniel asked. "Wasn't that sort of standard equipment in Ancient days?"

Stevenson shook his head 'no.' "_After we built the stargate network, we didn't need the Mentis Transitia for communication…and Merlin was a Lantean. They were confined to a single galaxy and had no use for intergalactic communications. Merlin had to have built one of his own_."

"And again, for what purpose?" Daniel asked.

"_What else was found in Merlin's cave beneath Glastonbury?_"

"Ok, I see where you're going with this. You think he left the Mentis Transitia behind for another purpose, and you think he might have left another clue behind."

"_I found nothing in the caves_," Stevenson admitted."_However, I think there may be more chambers than are currently accessible_."

Daniel's eyes widened. "You've been there already?"

Stevenson nodded.

"Well, there was the mantle that Merlin used to design his weapon in private. The power source went dead on us and we weren't able to retrieve much data from it."

"_I know. What else?_"

"There was the storybook, a lot of gold and jewels…and the runes," Daniel said, stepping to the side suddenly and digging through his storage bins.

"_What runes?_" Stevenson asked excitedly.

"These," Daniel said, finding the right bin. He pulled out three small stones. "They're unremarkable save for the Ancient writing on them. One word each."

Stevenson lifted one from Daniel's hands telekinetically and brought it up hovering in the air between them, rotating slowly. "_Infinity_," he read aloud in his native tongue.

"Hope and Solitude," Daniel translated as he held up the other two and Stevenson added them to the first, rotating in a rocky halo between them. "Do you know what they are?'

Stevenson reached out and grasped one in his hand. He concentrated on it for a moment, then the writing on the rune began to glow.

Daniel's eyes widened. "That never happened before. So they are a form of technology."

"_Keycards_," Stevenson said, floating the small stone back amongst the other two in mid air.

"We've had people with the Ancient gene handle them before," Daniel told him. "Why didn't they activate then?"

"_I had to mentally turn it on_," he explained. "_These were not meant for Human use. Only an Alterra or advanced Lantean could activate them_."

"Do you have any idea what Merlin used these keycards are for?" Daniel asked eagerly.

Stevenson nodded and pocketed the runes. "_I believe so_."

Daniel quickly got the impression that he intended to leave. "You have to take me with you. You're going back to Glastonbury, aren't you?"

"I'm a renegade," Stevenson warned him, once again speaking English. "You could get into trouble."

Daniel knew well that he was right. Even if the SGC let him off the hook, he knew the I.O.A. was furious with both Sheppard and Stevenson and would take it out on him if he got caught, so he made a snap decision that, in retrospect, had been a long time in coming.

"Then take me with you back to Atlantis," he said, almost pleading. "You've had the complete library of Ancient knowledge downloaded into your head and survived. You have no idea how much I've wanted to pick your brain since you escaped. I could continue studying the Ancients for years and not learn as much as I could from five minutes of talking with you."

Stevenson looked at him skeptically, not saying anything.

"You've also got Atlantis, which is where I planned on ending up anyway, if the whole Ori thing hadn't happened first…I realize that with what you know I'm not going to be of much, if any, help…but please, at least let me tag along."

Stevenson eyed him closely. "There's something else you have not mentioned. I can sense it."

Daniel blew out a reluctant breath. "Since you've been gone, things with the I.O.A. have gotten worse. Our new President seems to be in their back pocket, and they've been given more authority over stargate operations. And not dissimilar to what they tried to do to you, there's also been more shady decisions than usual. General Landry's even had to threaten them with retirement in order to get them to back down on a few things, but even he can't hold them up forever when the orders start coming down from the President."

Stevenson's eyes narrowed angrily. "Sounds like it's time for you to get out then."

Daniel's eyes lit up cautiously. "Is that a yes?"

"Yes," Stevenson confirmed. "Grab a backpack and fill it with what you need. I'll follow you out to the surface."

Daniel winced. "Technically I'm not supposed to leave the base. We've got another mission scheduled for ten hours from now."

"Leave anyway," Stevenson said. "If they stop you I'll clear your path," he said, reactivating his cloak.

"Oh," Daniel remembered. "I'll need to leave Mitchell a note, telling him not to come looking for me."

"Don't mention England," Stevenson's phantom voice advised.

"Right," Daniel said, quickly scavenging around for a pencil and paper. His heart was beating faster than he ever remembered. His life was about to take a sudden and radical change, much like it had when he'd chosen to stay behind on Abydos. Only this time, he had a feeling that things were going to be different in a more radical way.

It'd been too long since he'd been on a real adventure, and he figured that with Stevenson's knowledge of the Ancients and his turning his back on Earth…things were bound to be interesting from here on out.

After finishing his hasty goodbye note and slinging in a few essentials to a rough, old knapsack Daniel moved to the door and headed down the hall to Mitchell's quarters. The door was closed, and there was no light coming from the crack beneath it, so he assumed that Mitchell was elsewhere. Daniel leaned down and slid the folded note under the door, then casually walked away, his pulse pounding with each step as he tried to look normal as he headed toward the elevator that would take him up to the surface.

He made a few polite comments to people he passed on the way there, but encountered no difficulty. He was a regular here, after all, and the only one from the original stargate project to remain in the SGC. No one was going to question his movements. He shouldn't have been worried. Still, when he got inside the elevator and an invisible hand settled on his shoulder to signal him to push the ascent button he felt relieved.

Fifteen minutes later and he was out of the base. Five after that, he was in space.


	5. Chapter 5

Stevenson and Daniel ringed down into the isolation of Merlin's bare caverns while Colonel Sheppard kept the _Tria_ moving about in orbit to avoid the _Phoenix_'s frantic search. They emerged into the same dull lighting that Stevenson had encountered a few hours earlier. The sword remained the only object of interest within sight. All was the same as it had been before.

This time, however, Stevenson walked off in a hurry in a specific direction.

"You know where you're going?" Daniel asked, trailing behind.

"Yes," the Alterran answered, palming the 'Solitude' rune in his hand. He turned around another unimpressive corner and stopped dead in his tracks, with Daniel almost bumping into him from behind.

Stevenson traced his fingers over a blank section of wall until he stopped on a small glyph in the upper right hand corner near the ceiling. "See?" he asked.

"I do now," Daniel said, straining his neck to see what was over his head. "I wish I'd noticed that the first time I was here."

Stevenson stepped down from his tiptoes and raised the rune up to the identical glyph telekinetically. It's glowing symbol provided the only illumination in this small corner of the caverns, but when it touched the glyph on the wall both Daniel and Stevenson were bathed in a warm green glow as the wall disappeared to reveal another chamber.

"Wow," Daniel said subtly, stepping into the small room. Stevenson followed him in, quickly taking interest in wall-mounted display screen. Daniel continued around the small room, noting an antechamber next to a low bed. He walked into the antechamber and quickly recognized it as an Ancient lavatory.

"Solitude," Daniel repeated aloud. "Merlin was the only non-ascended Ancient at the time he built these caverns…I think these might have been his personal quarters, a sanctuary of sorts, someplace he could get away from the commoners of the time."

By now Stevenson had the display screen activated and a tracking image of the Phoenix in orbit. "Planetary sensors," he said when Daniel finally took notice.

Stevenson adjusted the point of view from orbit down to the surface of the planet. He zoomed in enough to pick up individual lifeforms and could actively track their movements.

"He could keep an eye on the entire planet from this chamber?" Daniel asked, in awe.

"Yes," Stevenson confirmed. "There's more."

The screen suddenly blanked, then gridded itself into a number of smaller screens, each popping up with similar tracking data, but from different locations. Daniel recognized the name above one of them.

"Camelot? That's another planet."

"They all are," Stevenson said. "The data is being relayed here through subspace."

"These must be all the medieval civilizations that he set up across the galaxy," Daniel said quickly. "Looks like some of them didn't make it."

Stevenson highlighted one of the lifeless ones and superimposed it over the others. He zoomed out and performed some kind of search. A moment later the computer tagged and highlighted a large impact crater.

"Asteroid," he told Daniel. "Log indicates it hit 231 years ago. No survivors."

"I don't suppose any of these planets are outside the galaxy?" Daniel asked.

Stevenson shook his head. "No. We couldn't get telemetry from that far away."

Daniel sighed. "Anything else interesting?"

"This consol is only used for sensor data, nothing more. If Merlin had a personal log, it's not here."

Daniel looked at him. "You think he kept one?"

"I'm hoping," Stevenson said, deactivating the display screen. "Without the original Mentis Transitia there's no way of knowing where the other end of the line was. You destroyed it, if you remember."

"Well it's not like we had much of a choice," Daniel protested. "The Ori were forcibly sustaining the connection. If Mitchell hadn't destroyed it when he did, Vala and I would have died."

"I'm just saying it would have been easier if we had the original," Stevenson said, half serious, half teasing Daniel. "Come on, we've got two more runes to use."

"Do you know where the other glyphs are?" Daniel asked as he followed him out of the room.

"One," Stevenson answered. "We're going to have to search for the third."

"Which one is it?" Daniel asked.

"_Hope_."

Daniel kept looking at the walls and the numerous nooks and crannies that their irregular surfaces contained as he followed Stevenson to the second glyph, which read 'Infinity."

Stevenson unlocked this chamber the same way he had the first, but when the wall disappeared they discovered a much larger chamber…filled with all kinds of Ancient technology. One in particular stood out immediately, built into the opposite rocky wall.

"Am I seeing things," Daniel asked, his jaw dropped. "Or is that another stargate?"

"It is," Stevenson said casually, closing his eyes in concentration. When he opened them again he looked to Daniel. "Locked down. That's why it doesn't interfere with the SGC gate."

"What did you just do?" Daniel asked.

"Pulled a status report from the gate."

"How?" Daniel insisted.

"The gates can be controlled mentally, Dr. Jackson."

"They can?" he asked, not sure if he was saying that in jest.

Stevenson held up one of the runes. "Most of our technology is mentally controlled."

"Why build a DHD then?" Daniel asked.

"It serves several purposes," Stevenson explained. "First of all, it allows non-Alterra use of the gate, which I see Merlin didn't care about, since he didn't build a dialing interface."

Daniel looked around, now noticing the lack of a DHD. "Doesn't it also have something to do with the correlative updates?"

Stevenson pointed to the wall that the stargate was built into. Depressed into the rock inside the ring was a block of Ancient tech. "That is the control interface, without a manual dialing pad. I'm guessing that this was Merlin's private way on and off the planet."

"Can you turn it on?"

Stevenson shook his head 'no.' "Not without Merlin's access code."

"What's the rest of this stuff?" Daniel asked, walking around until he laid eyes on a familiar pedestal. "Now that looks familiar."

"This is how Merlin made all of this," Stevenson said, walking up beside Daniel. "It's a molecular synthesizer."

"I know. I've had the pleasure of using one before."

Stevenson frowned. "Your physiology isn't advanced enough to utilize the interface."

"Not now," Daniel explained. "But Merlin made a few temporary modifications so I would be able to use the device to complete his weapon."

"I thought Merlin completed the weapon," Stevenson told him, "then Adria killed him, captured you, and stole the weapon."

"No, that's not what happened," Daniel objected. "Where did you get that idea?"

"The mission files," Stevenson said.

"That can't be, we…" Daniel said, stopping as the answer suddenly popped into his mind. "The I.O.A. They must have edited them like the others."

"What others?"

"Oh, yeah. Forgot to mention it earlier, but one of their recent projects has been to go back over the mission files and rewrite anything that doesn't portray them in the best of light. Landry about blew a gasket when he found out. Supposedly, Jack was able to put a stop to the whole mess, but from what you're telling me it seems they're at it again."

"I'm glad I left when I did," Stevenson told Daniel. "You'll have to fill me in on the rest later. Right now I need to check some files."

"Files about what?" Daniel asked, tracing his line of sight.

"This is a genetic alteration device," Stevenson said, walking over to and powering up the console. He ran through the operational log with a few mental impulses, then turned to Daniel.

"It seems I'm not the only Ancient after all," he said cryptically. "Merlin genetically advanced fourteen Humans on this platform." He manually and mentally dug through the specifics contained within the files. "It seems that he altered their genome towards that of a Lantean of his era, plus a few modifications."

"Like what?" Daniel asked.

"Some weakened versions of my Alterran abilities," he answered quietly. "Similar to what the Ori Priors possessed."

"Weakened?" Daniel asked skeptically. "They seemed pretty impressive to me, especially Adria."

"I wasn't talking about Adria. She was closer to an Alterran…actually she was probably a recreation of the Ori physiology akin to ours, though there were probably some developmental differences that occurred over the eons."

"Does the file give any names?" Daniel asked suspiciously.

Stevenson checked. "No, only serial numbers."

"I always thought that Merlin might have helped Arthur ascend," Daniel explained. "Could the alterations he made to those 14 have resulted in ascension?"

"Probably not," Stevenson cautioned. "Not on their own."

"Can you ascend?" Daniel asked as the stray thought hit him.

"That's not what the repository was designed for," Stevenson advised him.

"No, but you didn't answer my question," Daniel urged. "Do you have the ability to ascend, here and now, if you chose, like Adria did?"

Stevenson stared at Daniel for a moment, deciding whether or not to answer him. In the end, he figured it could do no harm. "Yes."

"Then why don't you?" Daniel asked in dismay.

"That's not my mission," Stevenson answered. "I could ask you the same thing, Dr. Jackson. Why did you choose to retake Human form?"

Daniel inclined his head to the side in a 'you got me there' gesture. "Ultimately I felt that my place was here, where I could make a difference. I couldn't let go what happening in the galaxy and just sit by and watch as bad things happened."

"Do you think I could?" Stevenson asked.

Daniel considered that. "To be honest, I don't know you well enough to answer that question."

"Fair enough," Stevenson said, deactivating the Ancient device. "We'll go through the rest of this stuff later. Help me look for the third symbol."

"You don't think there's anything valuable here?" Daniel asked, following him out of the room.

"No, it all looks pretty standard," Stevenson said, motioning Daniel to the right as he went left. "Split up."

"Alright," Daniel said, trying to get the Ancient toys out of his head and focus on his task. The glyph was so small and obscure that it was going to be hard to find, but now that he knew what to look for he figured he stood half a chance. He started with the wall nearest him and began his search along the ceiling, where the other two had been.

Step by tedious step he began to search through the caverns.

* * *

Two and a half hours later Daniel and Stevenson returned to the main chamber and sat down on the floor next to the sword in the stone. They had found nothing.

"Well it's got to be here somewhere," Daniel insisted, not wanting to give up.

"We've searched everywhere," Stevenson countered. "I don't see it."

"The first rune said 'Solitudes'," Daniel reiterated, "obviously referring to Merlin's quarters as a sanctuary of sorts. The second said 'Infinity' which I'd take a guess as to meaning the synthesis machine that can make anything and everything Merlin needed. The third says 'Hope', so maybe whatever is in that room is valuable enough to warrant some extra security."

"What do you suggest?"

"I don't know, but we can't just give up," Daniel pleaded.

Stevenson leaned on the stone mount and rested his head in his hand. "I'm waiting for any bright ideas."

Daniel blew out a frustrated breath and momentarily laid his forehead down on the cool stone. When he lifted it up his eyes laid directly on the hologram.

"Did you try the sword?" he asked.

"Try it how?" Stevenson said, glancing at it.

"I don't know. Did you touch it?"

Stevenson shook his head 'no.'

Daniel was beside himself. "You mean to say you spent hours looking through this place and didn't bother to examine the one obvious artifact down here."

"We already know what it does," Stevenson countered, but he was starting to agree with Daniel none the less.

Frustrated, Daniel reached out and grabbed the hilt of the sword. It wouldn't budge. "You try…" he said as the sword suddenly recaught his attention.

"What is it?" Stevenson asked, standing up.

"I found it," Daniel said simply. He pointed to the very bottom of the sword, on the tip of the hilt, where the tiny symbol for 'Hope' was written in Ancient.

"I'm glad I brought you along," Stevenson said, pulling out the third rune. He mentally activated it, then touched it to the hilt.

Suddenly there was a bright light that flooded the cavern. Just as suddenly, it was gone…and Stevenson and Daniel found themselves standing in the center of an endless sea of white, with nothing visible, save for the sword in the stone next to them.

"Does this remind you of…"Daniel asked.

"…the Matrix. Yeah," Stevenson answered.

Before either of them could say anything else, a hologram of Merlin appeared, standing behind the sword in the stone. Only this time, he appeared dressed in Ancient garb.

"_My brother, if you are seeing this, then either the Human race has advanced to a level akin to my forbearers or the Ancient Repository has finally come to fruition. I will assume the later, for if the former has occurred, what I have to tell you is for naught. Events will have already played themselves out for good or ill, and the fate of our little corner of the universe will have already been decided_."

"_I am leaving you this message for the simple reason that you deserve to know the truth about the civilization you have been bequeathed to restore. Not all of the original Alterra have been killed. Many have ascended, as I'm sure you are aware of by now. What you do not know, is that most of them no longer wish for their project to succeed_."

"_There are rules that the ascended must live by. Some of our own making. Others have been forced upon us. We were not the first to learn to ascend, and we will not be the last. Those that came before us will tolerate no threat to their continued existence. If one in the lower planes comes by such knowledge as to become a threat to the ascended, they will be killed or altered in some way as to no longer be a threat. For all their powers, the ascended are nothing more than energy based lifeforms. They, as I once did, have a number of weaknesses. Knowledge of those weaknesses is deemed an executable offense_."

"_Fear not, for they cannot eavesdrop on our conversation. As you will have noticed, you are no longer standing in a cave. I have temporarily shifted you into an alternate dimensional structure where ascended beings cannot follow. Guard what information I give you carefully. If you do not reveal it to others, the ascended will not force it from your minds. They care not for the thoughts of lesser beings and are forbidden to interfere save to counter threats to the collective. Do not speak of what you have heard here, and you should remain safe from their influence_."

"_The knowledge contained within the Repository is not deemed a threat to the others, but some of the research that the Alterra were conducting was. For this reason, some of the others do not want you to rebuild their former civilization, out of fear that they will be forced to stop you if history repeats itself. If not for the plague that ended the Alterran civilization, the other ascended beings at the time would probably have intervened at some point to stop the Alterran research from progressing_."

"_Now you may ask, what do they deem dangerous to them_?" Merlin's hologram continued. "_There are three areas that seem to concern them. The first is medical. Any research into ascension catches their eye, but it is to tangents of ascension research that they will not allow. I do not know for sure, but there may be a chance that a lower being such as ourselves could develop to the point where we could interact on the upper planes without actually ascending_."

"_That is speculation only. If there is a way, it is beyond my knowledge. I only know that such research is forbidden, and anyone who deliberately or accidentally follows that course of inquiry will be stopped in whatever way the others deem expedient_."

"_The second is a branch of physics you know of as Orilisieo. To my knowledge, neither the Alterra nor the Lantean civilizations made any considerable headway into this field, and I do not know how it would become a threat to the ascended, but it is taboo none the less. Avoid anything similar to avoid a confrontation…which you will lose, I can assure you_."

"_The third area is something called Precartis, which I have no knowledge of. It seems to have something to do with a region of space outside of the gate network. So long as you stick to the former territory of the Alterra, you should not have to worry about invoking the others' wrath on this account_."

"_There is one other matter I would make known to you, and the efforts I have taken to deal with it. They are called the Ori, and you should be familiar with our history from the knowledge placed within the repository. What you do not know is that the Ori have ascended, as we did, but they are not bound by the same rules of conduct. Within their home galaxy, they fall outside the realm controlled by the others, and so long as they do not enter our collective domain, they are free to do as they choose_."

"_What they have chosen to do is dominate the lower planes, using their knowledge and power to pose as gods to the recreated Human-like species that the Ori seeded in their galaxy after their ascension. These Humans worship the Ori, and through a complicated process the Ori are able to extract energy from them, strengthening their non-corporeal selves in the process_."

"_I believe this is part of the reason why the others choose not to bend the Ori to their will. I hope it is not the only reason, else some of my efforts will be in vain. If the Ori are let to run free because of their geographical location, then hope still remains_."

"_I have chosen to retake corporeal form in violation of the ascended rules in order to counter the threat of the Ori. I have done so in two ways. The first is the creation of a weapon that can kill ascended beings. My research is nearly complete, yet the fabrication will take some time. Once completed I will wait here, in Avalona, until the Ori finally discover the Human populations in this galaxy and attempt to convert them to their cause, siphoning additional energy from them, enough to strengthen themselves so that they can defy the others within their own territory long enough to attack and finally destroy the last of the Alterra and their kin, as they attempted to do so long ago, as you know well_."

"_However, I have taken additional measures to insure that something survives if I should fail. I have sent fourteen brave knights on a journey across the cosmos to a galaxy far beyond the vision of both the others and the Ori…I hope. I have enhanced them physically and mentally to nearly our level, insuring their longevity and ability to rebuild a second civilization in anonymity. If they are truly beyond the range of the others and the Ori, then they will be free to develop and one day ascend without interference, eventually growing in numbers sufficient to counter either the Ori or the others if they should ever encounter either one. That is my hope. And if fortune should smile upon me, it will not be in vain_."

"_The location I sent them to is far beyond the gate network, and I have instructed them to build their gates in a such a way as to be inaccessible to ours. They are in isolation by design, and I intend for it to stay that way. I have remained in communication with them during their long journey and their early years of development. Once they had attained a sufficient foothold I instructed them to sever all communications with this galaxy, where I would remain alone in my solitudes, awaiting the coming of the Ori. Regardless of my fate, I wished to insure that they would live on, anonymous_."

"_Never the less, I have kept my end of the communications link intact, fearing that they would encounter obstacles that would require my counsel. To date, they have not requested contact, which I take as a good omen_."

"_My purpose in telling you this, in violation of my own secrecy imperative, is to let you know that you are not alone. My knights and their kin may be out of your reach, but they are your allies, none the less. I tell you this because I know what it is to be alone, with everyone and everything seeming to work against you. Take heart, my young brother, for your task is equally important to their own. More so, considering the additional pressures you face from the others, and perhaps the Ori if I fail_."

"_The last thing I will say to you is this. Be wary of your ascended kin. They cannot be trusted beyond their own self interest. Mind the warnings I gave you, and regrow our civilization around them. The others should leave you be if you do, though I can make no promise of it_."

"_Fare well, my brother. Despite my efforts, you are still our first and best hope. May you succeed with all due haste_."

Merlin's hologram faded and the hilt of the sword began to pulse…but nothing happened. Apparently they were to touch the hilt when they wished to return.

"How much of that did you get?" Stevenson asked, knowing that Daniel's Ancient wasn't nearly as good as his.

"I think I got the gist of it," Daniel said quietly. "Merlin sent Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table away to where he thought they'd be safe from the Ori and the Ancients."

"Merlin only knew part of the truth, Daniel. And even that part I must wipe from your mind."

"Why?" Daniel asked as if he were being treated unfairly.

"The others he spoke of are far more malevolent than he knows, and any knowledge of them is a danger to both you and me. My mind is shielded from them. They cannot read my thoughts. Yours, however…"

"Tell me what you know first," Daniel pleaded.

Stevenson frowned. "You won't remember any of it."

"Still, I want to know. Even if for only a few minutes."

Stevenson nodded. "Alright, I owe you that much for finding the third rune." He proceeded to tell Daniel everything, and felt much better himself for having someone to confide in. They spent over five hours talking, then Stevenson finally used his telepathy to erase all memory of their conversation from Daniel's mind before touching the sword and returning to the main chamber.

Stevenson resealed the two chambers, leaving the Ancient technology where it lay. He needed none of it, and it should be safe where it was, lying anonymous behind sealed doors that only the runes or an Ancient hacker could open…and the Humans now had neither.

With runes in hand, Stevenson and a somewhat bewildered Daniel returned to the _Tria_ and headed back to the concealed supergate…to Daniel's genuine shock. What Daniel had been told he couldn't know about what happened under Glastonbury was quickly forgotten, surpassed by the knowledge of an alternate series of stargates and the true function of the 9th chevron.

The three of them returned to Pegasus without incident, bringing with them Stevenson's knowledge that he wasn't truly alone in the universe, Daniel's wonder and awe at the suddenly expanded gate network and Ancient knowledge now available to him, and Sheppard's small bag of goodies that he'd quietly collected while on Earth.


End file.
